According to the latest data released by Statistics South Africa, in December last year the country's producer price index (PPI) for the basic iron and steel industry decreased by 2.3 percent compared to November and was up 5.9 percent compared to December 2017.
Meanwhile, in November last year the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa fell by 2.2 percent compared to October and was up by 2.6 percent compared to the same month of 2017, while the index for exported products of iron and steel decreased by 1.2 percent month on month and by 0.7 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in November last year decreased by 0.1 percent month on month and was up by 19.2 percent year on year.